School will be different this fall for every Mississippi child. To help districts and parents stay informed, we created a new page on our website. Re-Opening Plan Tracker We have compiled a Google Sheet that provides school plans, social media accounts, and website information for every school district in Mississippi. Know re-opening plans vary widely…
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At Mississippi First, we often get calls or requests from students doing research, interested members of the public, and other advocates seeking to learn more about pre-K-12 public education in Mississippi by interviewing us in person or on the phone about what we do, what we believe, or what we think about an idea the…
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This op-ed originally appeared in the Clarion-Ledger on April 26, 2020. Life never seems to follow a straight line. Six months ago, the Mississippi economy was moving along and all signs pointed to new — read, unallocated — money in the budget for the 2020 legislative session. At last, Mississippi would have money for all…
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PLEASE NOTE: This is an informational blog post about actions taken by the State Board of Education. It does not describe a special program run by Mississippi First. We do not have any authority over licensure nor are we running an educator preparation program or a Praxis program. In light of the COVID-19 outbreak in…
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Updated on 3/12/2020 at 12:30 PM CST: The Senate voted unanimously to pass SB2864 on March 4, 2020. It has now been transmitted to the House. Today, the Senate Education Committee voted to extend the Mississippi Employer-Assisted Housing Teacher Program and remove the requirement that the program be administered in conjunction with the Federal National…
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HB274 UPDATE on 3/11/20: The House unanimously passed HB274 yesterday. It will now be transmitted to the Senate. The House Education Committee passed HB274 on February 25, 2020. The bill updates the requirements applicants must meet to qualify for the Higher Education Legislative Plan (HELP) Grant Program to align with changes in the college preparatory…
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UPDATE on 7/2/2020 at 11:00 AM CST: We are thrilled beyond measure to share with you that the Legislature decided to raise the per-pupil funding rate for collaboratives from $2,150 to $2,500. A classroom of 20 will now have $100K, as we have advocated. In this extremely difficult budget year, this is a tremendous sign of recognition of the…
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